Monday, April 19, 2010

You're Invited: Learn an overview of our NY preservation movement, and network with preservation professionals and advocates from citywide neighborhoods. Support your neighborhoods and also be a friend to others! See you there?

Friday, April 16, 2010

A huge thanks to everyone who became a fan of Rego-Forest Preservation Council on our Facebook Fan Page to date! Please help us fulfill our mission by joining our new Facebook Group via the link below, or search Rego-Forest Preservation Council on Facebook.

Benefits for Members

*A chance to learn about and post feedback to neighborhood preservation campaigns, preservation resources and new programs, historic preservation/history events, historic research, as well as interact with other members that share your interest in historic preservation of Rego Park, Forest Hills, and other noteworthy Queens-wide preservation causes.

*Access to e-mails from Rego-Forest Preservation Council to your inbox via Facebook, which ensures delivery. News items posted on the Facebook Group wall will automatically be posted to your Facebook homepage newsfeed.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

- How was Rego Park named? - Between all the bustle of Queens Blvd, where is Rego Park's history? - What can we do as citizens to preserve our neighborhood from insensitive alterations and demolition? Are there any benefits?

What Rego Park has to offer in the name of history is directly in front of our eyes, but for some residents and passersby, it can be a needle in a haystack, so we have to be informed........

Rego Park was named in 1923 by developers Henry Schloh and Charles Hausmann of the “Real Good” Construction Co, after buying farmland. The land was once part of Forest Hills, which was named in 1906, but changed for real estate purposes. The first developments included 525 8-room Colonial houses bordering 63rd Dr and Elliot Ave, followed by elaborate apartment houses on Saunders St in the late 1920s, which continued through the 1940s on Saunders St and Queens Blvd, and were also highly regarded. A large quantity of the original homes stand today in a relatively unaltered state, and the apartment houses remain mostly intact. The first street was Remsen Ave (now 63rd Drive), named after the Remsen family, which owned a large parcel of farmland in Rego Park, which is difficult to visualize today.

Some other notable sites that are reflective of Rego Park's historic fabric include Public School 139 on 63rd Dr, which was filed with the Dept of Buildings in 1928, Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, which opened its first formal home in 1931 on 63rd Dr, and Rego Park Jewish Center on Queens Blvd with a cornerstone reading 1948 (Placed on the State & National Register of Historic Places in Oct. 2009), and the Lost Battalion Hall on the north side of Queens Blvd between 63rd Dr & Horace Harding. In the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s, classic Art Deco shops were erected on Queens Blvd and along 63rd Dr, and some were considered showrooms for goods, with customers appreciative of their mom & pop status and revolutionary architectural touches.

Remo Hall, erected 1927, is the earliest apartment house in Rego Park on Saunders St. It is a Tudor architectural gem alongside neighboring buildings that exhibit a smorgasbord of styles in our neighborhood, including Georgian Colonial, Art Deco, Moorish, and Medieval. Other historic apartment houses include Marion Court, Jupiter Court, Savoy Gardens, Elizabeth & Victoria complex, and the Oxford and Cambridge complex, and the the Saunders Gardens complex, which were all developed from the late 1920s - early 1940s. Many apartment houses are symbolic of Ebenezer Howard's Garden City Movement, since they grant a sense of place by reserving space for landscaping and breathing space by not developing the land in its entirety, have recessed building wings, feature courtyards, are low-rise in scale, feature roof gardens for residents to associate and keep cool during the summer months, and most incorporate traditional English architectural touches. Even though the Saunders Gardens complex is a later addition with Art Deco touches, it features recessed areas and the traditional roof garden, along the lines of Marion Court, and was developed around the central theme of a park.

The architectural and cultural diversity within a concentrated section of the neighborhood, sheds lots of history, and therefore merits preservation within a Rego Park Historic District by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/home/home.shtml). The general boundaries are inclusive of Queens Blvd, 63rd Dr, Saunders St, and Elliot Ave, and touch upon Booth St and Wetherole St. Rego-Forest Preservation Council has been documenting and researching this section of the neighborhood (and other sections of both Rego Park and Forest Hills) for nearly 2 years. This is much-needed, and will ensure survival of its historic and harmonious character, ensure that any future development is in context, and will maintain and enhance property values over time. NYC Landmarking (sometimes in combination with State & National Register of Historic Places status) also increases the likelihood of acquiring grants for property owners, through funding programs for historically-sensitive restoration work and building upgrades.

This is a work-in-progress! Please browse and become our flickr friend and a supporter throughout the research process. E-mail unlockthevault@hotmail.com with questions, suggestions, or to become a preservation supporter. All contributors will be recognized.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to announce creation of a new grant fund targeting historic preservation and community revitalization in New York City, made possible by the generous support of Elizabeth and Robert Jeffe.

The Elizabeth and Robert Jeffe Preservation Fund for New York City will provide seed monies to nonprofit organizations and government agencies for critical work in stewarding and safeguarding the rich heritage and vitality of the nation's largest city. These grants are intended to build capacity, leverage additional support, and provide momentum to get community preservation and revitalization projects off the ground, by providing capital in early stages and at important junctures.

·Government agencies and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. Individuals and private, for-profit entities are ineligible.

·Grants are awarded for planning and education activities focused on preservation and revitalization within New York City limits. Examples of eligible activities include: retaining professional consulting services in areas such as architecture, archaeology, engineering, preservation or land-use planning, economics, fundraising, organizational development, media relations, and education; sponsoring workshops or community forums; designing, producing, and marketing printed materials or other media communications to advance historic preservation; surveys and inventories of historic resources.

·Grants will not be awarded for bricks-and-mortar construction activities, property acquisition, salaries, operating expenses, staff time, or academic research.

·Grants must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Typical award amounts will generally range from $2,500 to $10,000 (in exceptional cases, up to $15,000).

·The application deadline for the inaugural grant round is June 1, 2010. Thereafter, round deadlines are October 1, February 1, and June 1 yearly.

Applicants are required to contact the National Trust’s Northeast Office for guidance and assistance before submitting an application.

1. JOIN our Facebook Group, become a Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Queens preservation supporter, play a role in our future, interact with other members, and invite your friends:http://on.fb.me/RegoForest

2. JOIN the Facebook Group, "S.O.S. (Save Our Stadium!)" in order to help preserve & reuse the historic international icon, the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, which is under the threat of demolition by condo-minded developers if sold. Invite your friends to support the preservation campaign: http://on.fb.me/SaveOurStadium

MISSION STATEMENT

Rego-Forest Preservation Council seeks to preserve and commemorate the architectural and cultural history of Rego Park, Forest Hills, and adjacent neighborhoods of Queens, NY. We work with citizens, affiliate organizations, and property owners on local, city, state, & federal levels. Avenues include Individual Landmarks, Historic Districts, Rezonings, State & National Register properties and districts; to ultimately provide funding assistance for restoration and adaptive reuse, safeguard community character, and convey historic pride for current and future generations.